


Marriage is a Verb

by remuslives23



Category: Torchwood
Genre: AU, Alternative Meeting, F/M, M/M, old fic, reel torchwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 07:19:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2969435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remuslives23/pseuds/remuslives23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marriage isn't something you get; it's something you do. Ianto Jones is all for getting married. He's nearly done it four times, after all. It's the doing part that makes him run a mile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for reel torchwood from the prompt: "Runaway Bride"

A nerve-jangling jingle blared out of the speaker and Jack Harkness winced, flicking off the radio in his SUV. He glanced out the window, hoping to see some sign of civilisation, but instead, was greeted with green grass as far as the eye could see, the occasional sheep dotting the landscape.

'Not in Cardiff anymore, Toto,' he muttered, shifting in his seat to try and get more comfortable as he mentally reviewed his current situation.

Andy Davidson. He certainly was a dark horse. The police officer had always struck Jack as nice enough, but a bit hopeless in the love stakes; most definitely not the kind of man to secretly conduct a secret affair with, and become engaged to, another man.

Although, thought Jack uncharitably, he does seem the kind to get left standing at the altar.

The phone rang and Jack cursed as Gwen Cooper's name popped up on the display. He resisted the urge to hang up on her and answered the call with a sulky, 'What?'

Her giggle only irritated him even further and his finger lingered over the End button as she spoke.

'Aren't you enjoying your trip to the countryside, Jack?'

'What do you want, Gwen?'

She laughed again then Jack heard the rustling of paper. 'Andy called me,' she began, and Jack groaned dramatically.

'Isn't it enough that I'm actually checking out his ridiculous claims?' Jack complained. 'Can't the man just accept that this...' He checked the name on the file sitting on the passenger seat, '... Ianto Jones simply changed his mind and jilted him? I know he's pissed this guy's engaged again so soon after dumping him, but really, what does he expect me to do four months later? '

'Jack,' she said in her sensible, listen-to-me-because-I-know-best voice. 'Andy found another one.'

Jack looked away from the road and stared at the phone as if it would confirm Gwen's information. 'Another?' he said with a frown as he turned his attention back to the road in time to navigate a sharp bend. 'How many is that then?'

'Three, including Andy,' she told him, a little too much smugness in her tone for Jack's liking. 'Three perfectly happy relationships – they all got along like a house on fire – then halfway down the aisle, Ianto Jones gets this blank look on his face and... runs.'

'Runaway bride,' Jack murmured then grinned when he heard Gwen huff. 'You want to smack me right now, don't you?'

'Very much,' she said curtly. 'Listen, Jack. I know you don't think there's anything alien about this and you're probably right, but it won't hurt to check it out and then...' She hesitated and Jack grimaced. He knew what was coming. 'You need a break, Jack.'

Jack forced a smile onto his face. 'I've just come back from a break.'

Gwen tsked. 'I don't know what happened while you were away with the Doctor,' she said gently. 'But I do know that it wasn't anything like a pleasure trip.'

Jack swallowed hard as she continued. 'You've been jumpy and depressed for a month now, Jack. Just... take some time out, alright? I know the Beacons don't have great connotations for us...'

Jack barked out a laugh at the understatement. 'Yeah, cannibals really do have a way of putting a dampener on a vacation,' he said acerbically.

Gwen ignored him. '...but it is beautiful out there, and quiet and, despite what Andy believes, probably free of anything alien. Just... spend some time getting over whatever it is you won't tell us.'

Jack blinked back the tears that threatened and cleared his throat. 'Thanks, Gwen,' he murmured, knowing she was right. He needed some time to get his head in the right place, to find meaning in what he did again. 'Call me if you need me there...'

'We'll be fine, Jack,' she said blithely. 'Just keep me up to date on Andy's bloke. You know, I kind of hope there is some kind of mind control involved. I'm not looking forward to telling Andy that this Ianto just wasn't that into him.'

'No,' Jack agreed, making a face as he recalled the police officer's snotty, tear-streaked face as he explained his theory that his fiancé was under the influence of some kind of alien mind control device.

'He wouldn't do this to me! We were happy!'

Jack doubted there was any validity to the theory, but had been convinced by Gwen to look into it – and take some time for himself at the same time.

He hadn't told his team about his travels with the Doctor, about the Valiant or the Master. It hadn't happened for them and they saw enough of the universe's horrors without him exposing them to more. Jack scrubbed at his eyes which were stinging a little from exhaustion. Perhaps they were right. A few days off, maybe a flirtation with a country boy or girl, might be just what the Doctor... well, just what he needed.

*

 

Ianto Jones smiled at Lisa Hallett as he handed over the hazelnut latte then leaned in for a kiss. 'Not long now before I'm Lisa Jones,' she murmured, and Ianto smiled.

'Can't wait,' he said, giving her another quick peck on the lips.

'Did you speak with the celebrant?' Lisa asked, sipping her drink and closing her eyes as the flavours slid smoothly over her tongue.

'Yep,' Ianto replied, tugging a cloth from his apron and wiping a splash of hazelnut flavouring from the counter top. 'And I'll see about the cake once my slave driver boss lets me have a moment to myself.'

'I heard that,' Rhiannon Davies said, slapping her brother across the back of the head as she carried a tray full of dirty cups to the kitchen. 'And see that Betty at the bakery gives you a discount. You've sure as hell spent enough money on wedding cakes there in the past. You should get the fourth for free.'

'Funny, Rhi,' Ianto muttered, frowning down at the counter as he continued to scrub at the now non-existent spot.

'Ignore her, Yan,' Lisa said, patting his hand. 'You just needed to find the right person. This will be the last wedding cake you'll have to order.'

She gave him a smug little smile that grated on his nerves almost as much as her shortening of his name, but he smiled and nodded.

'Have a good day,' he said quietly, letting her kiss his cheek perfunctorily before she left. Ianto watched her go, her slim hips swaying cheekily, a broad grin on her face.

She's so certain all the time, he thought. So positive that we're perfect for each other.

Ianto turned to the sink to wash the cups and saucers Rhiannon had dumped there, wishing he was as certain as Lisa was. He loved her. He was sure he loved her. He liked being with her, she made him laugh, she wanted a family and a house...

Ianto felt a familiar niggle of uncertainty itching inside his chest. He dropped the cup into the soapy water and braced his hands on the edge of the sink as he took deep breaths. He wanted this. He wanted everything Lisa wanted.

Ianto bit his lip. He loved his life in Talgarth. He enjoyed working with Rhi in her coffee shop, and he liked the easygoing pace of the small town. Everyone knew him here, he was comfortable, and he wanted to set up a house and have kids and bring them up here.

But there was a little part of him, a tiny minuscule part of him, that longed for something more. More exciting, more action-packed, more passionate. He just wasn't sure what it was he yearned for, or how to go about getting it.

He sighed and plunged his hands into the hot, bubbly water again, his racing mind barely registering the tinkle of the chimes as the door opened or Rhiannon's voice as she greeted the newcomer. He was, however, startled out of his contemplation by the loud American accent that seemed to boom throughout the shop.

'Hello there, gorgeous! I like my coffee the same as I like my women - hot and strong.'

Ianto snorted softly to himself. Crass American. A smile twitched at the corner of his lips. Rhi'll put him in his place.

He waited to hear his sister tell this smarmy foreigner where he could shove his coffee, but the admonishment never came. Instead, Ianto was startled to hear a giggle and the rustle of Rhiannon's skirt as she hurried to the coffee machine.

Peering over his shoulder, Ianto could see what he assumed was the American's shoulder, clad in a thick wool military-style coat. His gaze shifted to Rhiannon and he was bemused to see the pink tint to her cheeks and her flustered motions as she made the coffee.

'So, are you just passing through town, or staying around for a while?' Rhiannon asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she stared coquettishly through her eyelashes at the customer.

'Well, now that I've seen the sights this place has to offer, I think I might hang around a while,' the deep voice said flirtatiously and, much to Ianto's disgust, his sister giggled again.

Ianto rolled his eyes and shook his head as he turned back to his washing up. He listened absently while Rhiannon extolled the virtues of the town then, as he lifted the last of the saucers into the drainer, he heard his own name and froze.

'... hoping to meet Ianto Jones, actually,' said the man, rolling the vowels on his tongue obscenely, making the saucers slip a little in Ianto's suddenly shaky hands. 'Is he a relative?'

'Ianto?' Rhiannon said, and Ianto could tell she was frowning. He looked over his shoulder and saw her glance his way. 'He's my brother. What do you want with him?'

'We have a mutual friend,' the man replied.

Ianto twisted his upper body around, trying to catch a glimpse of the man who knew his name just as Rhiannon asked, 'Oh, yeah? Who's that then?'

'Andy Davidson.'

Ianto almost lost his balance, flailing desperately to keep himself upright. His arm knocked the drainer and the saucers he'd just washed fell to the ground with a crash and shattered at Ianto's feet.

'Shit!'

He crouched on the ground, carefully picking up the larger shards of china. He could feel eyes boring into him and tried to ignore the prickle of heat that burned his skin through his shirt. Ianto tossed the pieces of broken saucer into a nearby bin and was reaching for a dust pan when the shift of air around him alerted him to the presence of another person.

Another person who smelled bloody amazing.

Ianto breathed in deeply, inhaling a scent that was warm and musky and what fucking fabulous sex should smell like and, even before he dared to look over his shoulder, he could feel arousal swirling lazily in his gut.

'Need some help?'

Ianto's gaze inched its way up the long, strong legs – trying not to linger for too long on the fabric stretched across the narrow hips – over the blue shirt covered chest then came to rest on the most ridiculously handsome face he'd ever seen. The man grinned as though he knew exactly what Ianto was thinking then winked.

'Never knew Andy had it in him,' he said, the grin turning into a leer as his eyes wandered along Ianto's spine until it reached his arse. The man's tongue flicked at his bottom lip, making that arousal in Ianto's stomach coil tighter. 'I'm assuming you are Ianto Jones?'

Ianto stood up so fast his head spun and he backed up, clutching at the counter behind him for support. 'Who are you?' he demanded, glancing behind the American to see Rhiannon's wide-eyed gaze fixed on the other man's arse. He narrowed his eyes, watching her as she realised what she was doing and shook herself out of her stupor.

'You... you shouldn't be back here,' she said weakly, but the other man ignored her.

'Captain Jack Harkness,' he said in answer to Ianto's question. He held out a hand and Ianto eyed it as if worried it would bite him. Finally, he pried his fingers off the counter and took it, giving it a quick shake before withdrawing his hand fast. Captain Harkness grinned. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, Ianto Jones.'

'You know Andy?' Ianto asked, flexing his hand.

Jack smiled, but this time, it failed to reach his eyes. 'Through a colleague,' he confirmed then he looked over his shoulder. Rhiannon was glancing from Ianto to Harkness, curiosity burning in her eyes. 'Is there somewhere we can go to talk privately?'

Ianto bit his lip as he weighed his options. 'Is Andy alright?' he asked and Harkness nodded.

Ianto sighed. Andy wouldn't send someone after him to rough him up or anything. He was pretty upset with Ianto, but he wasn't crazy. 'Come on then,' he finally said, quickly untying his apron and hanging it neatly on the hook near the sink. 'We can go to mine.'

He turned to Rhiannon who nodded that she'd be fine then asked over his shoulder, 'Want your coffee to go?'

Jack nodded and Rhiannon quickly made him a fresh cup. 'You want one too, Ianto?' she asked.

'Yeah, just give me whatever you made him,' Ianto mumbled, pulling on his coat. He handed Jack his takeaway cup, scowling when he caught the other man staring at his arse.

'Listen,' he said sharply. 'I don't know what you want, but when we get to my place, you've got ten minutes to tell me before I wipe that smug smile off your face. Alright?'

Without waiting for a response, Ianto snatched his cup off Rhiannon and stomped out the back door, not looking back to see if Harkness was following.

*

 

'Let me see if I understand,' Ianto said, staring at Jack dubiously. 'You work for a secret organisation that hunts aliens and you think that I might have been exposed to some kind of... mind control?'

'Well, when you put it like that, it sounds crazy.'

Ianto blinked. 'So, I misunderstood?'

'Not at all,' Jack said with a blinding grin. 'I'm just saying that it does sound mad when you say it like that.'

Jack chuckled as Ianto rolled his eyes. 'I must say that you are taking this rather well,' he said, pulling his hand-held scanner from his pocket with an unnecessary flourish. 'There's usually a lot more head shaking and swearing and threats to call the police.'

'I'm Welsh, sir. We don't do hysterics.'

'Admirable.'

Ianto bit his lip then asked tentatively, 'So it is real then? There really is more out there? Other worlds?'

Jack beamed and gave Ianto a nod as he compressed the red button on the side of the device. 'There sure is,' he said then he held out the scanner. 'Now, if I could just run this over that rather delightful looking body of yours, we can have this sorted and start getting to know each other better in just a few minutes.'

Ianto pushed himself to his feet, hands automatically moving to unbutton his jacket as he cautiously eyed the scanner. 'Can I ask exactly what makes you think I'm under some kind of alien influence?'

'PC Andy,' Jack murmured, slowly moving the scanner over every inch of Ianto's body. 'He seems to think that your behaviour at your interrupted nuptials was uncharacteristic.'

A choking sound made Jack glance up, and he frowned at the bewildered expression on Ianto's face. 'He thought... Oh, God.' Ianto sank back down into his seat, burying his face in his hands.

Jack lowered the scanner, his hand straying unconsciously to the butt of his holstered weapon. 'What is it?'

Ianto looked up, his face distressed. 'Andy really thinks I was... possessed, and that's why I called the civil partnership off?'

Jack raised an eyebrow in confirmation, and Ianto closed his eyes with a groan. 'I can't... I didn't realise I hurt him so badly.' He cracked open his eyes and peered up at Jack. 'I didn't deserve Andy. I loved him, but not the way he deserved, not the way I needed to in order to spend my life with him.'

'You just changed your mind then?' Jack asked, cocking his head. 'Just like that?'

Ianto sighed. 'Haven't you ever made a mistake?' he said wearily, dragging a hand through his thick hair and ruffling it endearingly. 'Thought you felt something that wasn't really there?'

Jack shrugged a shoulder in admission. 'Of course,' he confessed, slipping the scanner – result negative – back into his coat. He sat on the settee opposite Ianto and looked closely at the man. 'But you seem to have made more mistakes than most people.'

Ianto lost his tired countenance and sat up ramrod straight. 'Have you been checking up on me?' he snapped indignantly.

'I didn't come all the way out here based on one man's broken heart,' Jack said, tone steely. 'You've had an extraordinary number of relationships fall apart just metres from the altar. One or even two you could pass off as indecisiveness, but three? And I understand you're working on victim number four right now. The wedding's in a couple of weeks, right?'

'Lisa is not...' Ianto pressed his lips together and Jack saw a flare of fury in those remarkably blue eyes. When he continued, his voice was tightly controlled. 'I love Lisa. I made some mistakes in the past – my mistakes, not alien intervention,' he said scathingly, 'but I won't repeat them this time.'

'Because you love this one?' Jack said doubtfully.

'Get out!'

Jack smiled ruefully and rose more slowly than Ianto, who had shot to his feet and was pointing towards the front door. 'What makes this one special?' he asked as he slowly sauntered in the direction of the exit. 'What is it about her that's going to make you break what seems to be becoming a habit?'

'I love her!'

Jack paused by the door. He gave Ianto a thorough once over, his mouth crooking up at the corner when he saw how his attention discomforted Ianto. 'Like you loved the others?' he asked quietly, seeing exactly what he expected to see in Ianto's eyes.

A flicker of doubt.

There was no way Ianto Jones was going to be marrying his latest partner. And it was nothing to do with aliens or mind control. Ianto was doing this of his own accord and that tweaked Jack's interest more than an extra-terrestrial explanation.

Ianto flung the door open and stood stony-faced with his hands on his hips. 'I wish I could say it was nice to meet you, Captain Harkness,' he said, voice devoid of emotion. 'Have a safe trip back to Cardiff.'

Jack's burgeoning smile morphed into a grin. Gwen's suggestion to take a few days away from Torchwood and Cardiff suddenly didn't seem like such a bad idea.

'Oh, I'm not going right back to Cardiff,' Jack said breezily as he walked out onto the porch that wrapped around the house. 'I think a few days breathing in the fresh country air will do me the world of good.'

He smirked at Ianto who, without a moment's pause, slammed the door in Jack's face.

Jack chuckled, checking his scanner again and satisfying himself that there were absolutely no traces of Rift energy. He shoved it back into his pocket and bounced down the stairs, whistling as he went. He felt energized for the first time in a very long time. Ianto Jones intrigued him. He seemed so sensible and rational. What would possess him to make such bad decisions time after time? To allow things to go so far as a church and a tuxedo then run away?

Jack looked back over his shoulder at the house and saw a curtain quickly fall back into place. He grinned as he made his way back to the coffee shop to pry some answers out of Ianto's sister.

Aliens or not, this was going to be a very interesting few days.

*

 

Ianto spent the rest of the afternoon pounding and kicking his boxing bag, stopping only when his limbs were trembling from exertion. He collapsed, breathless, into a dining room chair, tugging at the laces of his boxing gloves with his teeth.

'Ianto!' called a chirpy voice and Ianto groaned at his fiancée's cheerfulness.

'You'll never guess what happened today,' he called out, finally getting the laces undone. He pulled the glove off then worked on the second one. 'This bloke came all the way from Cardiff because he thought I was being controlled by aliens or something. He ran a scanner over me and everything.'

He threw the gloves onto the table and made his way through to the living area. 'It's nutters like him that make me glad to be well away from the madness of the big cities.'

He smiled as he entered the room and his gaze fell on Lisa. She grinned back at him then, as she came forward to greet him, Ianto caught sight of another figure standing by the fireplace.

'Hi, love,' Lisa said, hugging Ianto quickly then pulling back. 'You've already met Jack, haven't you?'

Ianto's jaw dropped before he could stop it and he stammered,' Wha... What...?'

'I called in to see you at the coffee shop after work and you weren't there,' Lisa admonished lightly as she pulled Ianto towards the settee. 'But Jack was there and we got talking and he mentioned he'd met you earlier.'

Jack smiled beatifically at Ianto who experienced an increasingly familiar desire to smack those perfect teeth down his throat and nearly missed Lisa's next words. '... invited him to dinner.'

'What?'

Lisa blinked at his sharp tone. 'I invited him to dinner,' she repeated slowly.

Ianto clenched his jaw and glared at Jack who looked as though he knew exactly what murderous thoughts were rushing through Ianto's head.

'Ianto, are you alright?'

With enormous effort, Ianto plastered a smile on his face and turned to look at a concerned Lisa. 'I'm fine,' he said with false cheer. 'I was just surprised to see... Jack here. I thought he was heading back to Cardiff.'

'What can I say?' Harkness said with a careless shrug that made Ianto's blood boil. 'I've fallen in love with your quaint little town and its very interesting and... informative people.'

Ianto's fingernails bit into his palm as the urge to punch the other man grew in intensity. Ianto glared at him as Lisa asked, 'Coffee, Jack?'

Harkness nodded. 'Black and strong, thanks,' he said then grinned at Ianto. 'Just like Ianto takes his.'

Lisa laughed, a puzzled expression on her face. 'Ianto doesn't drink black coffee,' she said, hugging Ianto's arm briefly. 'He likes lattes, don't you, love? We both drink our coffee the same way.' She turned to smile at Jack. 'It's a sign. We were meant to be.'

Jack's smile became incredulous, but Lisa didn't seem to notice, excusing herself to make the drinks. Ianto's burning ire quickly rose to supernova levels as Harkness unashamedly studied one framed photograph after another and poked through Ianto's magazines and books.

'What the hell do you think you're playing at?' Ianto hissed as soon as the kitchen door swung shut behind Lisa. 'I made it perfectly clear earlier that I want nothing more to do with you.'

'Your sister and fiancée don't share your distaste for me. I had a lovely afternoon talking to them about you,' Harkness said cheerfully, snorting out a laugh at a photograph of young Ianto in nothing but his birthday suit. 'Do you still have a penchant for nudity? Don't feel you need to dress on my account...'

Ianto scowled and stormed across the room, snatching the photograph out of Harkness' hands and non-too-gently returning it to the mantle. 'Why are you doing this? You got what you wanted – I'm not possessed by little green men – so just leave me alone.'

Harkness turned so he was standing toe to toe with Ianto, the two men evenly matched for height. Ianto couldn't help but be aware of how much broader and muscular than himself Jack Harkness was, and was alarmed by the tiny shiver of awareness that dripped down his spine. With difficulty, he met the other man's unwavering gaze; the unexpected shimmer of sorrow and loneliness not entirely hidden by the sheen of mischievous interest Harkness was trying to project.

'I won't leave you alone because you baffle me,' Harkness said, his little smug smirk telling Ianto he was well aware of the close scrutiny. 'I'm a good judge of character usually – I know people – and you... you make no sense. It's been a long time since I couldn't work someone out in ten minutes flat.' He flashed Ianto a wide grin; Ianto studiously ignoring the coinciding flutter in his stomach. 'I want to know what makes you tick.'

He leaned in closer, Ianto halting his instinctive reaction to get as far away from this man as possible and standing his ground. He could feel Harkness' breath tickling his cheek and his mouth went dry.

'And you're pretty, Ianto Jones,' he whispered, Ianto jumping as Harkness' hand brushed against his thigh. 'I like pretty things.'

As Harkness' hand trailed closer to Ianto's crotch, Ianto surrendered to his baser instincts and punched Jack Harkness right on his chiseled jaw.

*

 

Ianto woke the next day still fuming about Harkness' presumptuousness and cranky because Lisa had blamed him for Jack's rapid departure. She'd spent the rest of the evening running through the positive affirmations and visualisation techniques she'd learned at work with him before she finally went home.

He put in an appearance at the coffee shop – not sure if he was happy or disappointed that there was no sign of Harkness - only for Rhiannon to send him home after a couple of hours, snapping that his face was turning the milk sour. Ianto scowled and stomped out the door with a couple of takeaway coffees, the walk down the block spent plotting inventive ways to kill the man that had watered those tiny seeds of doubt in his head then exposed them to light, leaving him as they started to flourish.

A bell jangled as Ianto pushed open the door of a shop at the end of the street, and a voice called out loudly.

'Ianto, that you? Hand me that little screwdriver, will you?'

Ianto looked over the counter, his best friend's flapping arm all he could see. His mood immediately lifted and he grinned, putting one of the coffees he held down. Finding the tool in the small tool box, he reached over the counter and placed it in her flailing hand.

'Thanks,' she mumbled, the hand disappearing under the desk. 'That is the last time I let Owen anywhere near my computers.'

'I can't believe you let him touch your babies again,' Ianto laughed, sipping on his cardboard cup of coffee as he watched a glossy black head emerge from under the desk. 'He managed to break a monitor and strip all your wires last time.'

'Love makes you do crazy things,' Toshiko Sato said as she peered up at him. She spotted his coffee and pouted playfully. 'Where's mine?'

Ianto handed her the second cup and her eyes closed in pleasure as she inhaled the mocha-scented steam. 'Oh, you are a genius, Ianto Jones. What flavour did you get?'

Ianto held out a hand to help her stand. 'Same as you. And yes, making cups of coffee takes a Mensa level IQ,' he said dryly then he sighed. 'Stick with what you're good at, though, right?'

Tosh frowned. 'I keep telling you, Ianto, unless you want to be making coffee when you're grey and distinguished, get out of this town. Go to Cardiff, enroll in university, do something you want to do with your life instead of...'

She bit her lip and Ianto flinched at the abrupt halt. '... instead of working for my sister and accepting marriage proposals from all the wrong people in order to try and make my life more meaningful?'

Tosh raised an eyebrow curiously. 'Are you including Lisa in that assessment?' she asked and Ianto quickly shook his head.

'Of course not,' he said, flushing. 'I... I love Lisa...'

'Not enough to propose to her,' Tosh reminded him.

'She got in first, is all.'

'Hmm.' Tosh looked sceptical but dropped the subject, instead adopting a nonchalant expression before asking, 'So, who's this Harkness bloke that's so interested in you?'

Ianto looked startled. 'You heard about him?'

Tosh snorted. 'This is Talgarth, Ianto,' she reminded him. 'Everyone knew about him five minutes after he drove that monster SUV into town.' She sipped at her coffee. 'Owen and I met him at the coffee shop yesterday. He was talking with Rhi and Lisa. About you.'

Ianto groaned, burying his face in his hands. 'Why is he doing this? I am getting married and I am happy. Why did he have to show up now?'

Tosh looked closely at Ianto. 'He's very handsome,' she said tentatively and raised an eyebrow when Ianto groaned again.

As Tosh opened her mouth to question Ianto about this reaction, the door opened to admit an unusually jovial Owen Harper followed by -

'What the hell are you still doing here?'

Jack grinned that insufferably wide smile at Ianto before sharing a knowing look with Owen. 'Close enough,' Owen said, rummaging in the pocket of his jeans then slapping a ten pound note in Jack's hand.

'I told him you'd say that,' Jack explained, 'but he seemed to think you were too polite.'

'Can't say no to anyone,' Owen said with a laugh, punching Ianto on the arm playfully. 'He's got three barely worn tuxedos in his closet to prove it.'

Ianto forced himself to smile at what he knew was meant to be teasing, but the words had an edge that cut deeply. He'd already been nervous enough about his upcoming nuptials, but had been tolerating the inevitable jibes and not-subtle betting from the residents of their small community. Now, though, each remark seemed to rub against something raw inside him and he was beginning to bleed doubt and uncertainty again.

I just need to spend some time with Lisa. We'll laugh about Harkness together then go back to planning the wedding and it'll be fine.

His eyes flicked to Harkness' face then he quickly looked away when he saw the man's knowing gaze upon him.

'I should go,' he said, standing so fast he startled Tosh. 'Work to do. See you later.'

Tosh called his name but he ignored her, breathing a heavy sigh when he reached the footpath.

'Something wrong?' a deep, amused voice asked and Ianto's jaw clenched as he spun around to glare at Harkness.

'What are you doing?'

Harkness smiled. 'Right now,' he said cheerfully. 'I'm thinking you could show me around town.'

'Why on earth would I want to do that?'

'Because,' Harkness said with a triumphant smirk, 'you wouldn't want me roaming around on my own, talking to people, asking them questions...'

Ianto tasted iron as blood filled his mouth, his tongue stinging where his teeth had punctured it. 'Fine,' he spat, spinning on his heel. 'You can come with me on one condition, Harkness. No nasty comments about Lisa or my previous relationships.'

Harkness laid a hand over his heart. 'I swear upon my honour...'

Ianto looked disbelieving and Harkness laughed, the sound dripping with a disturbing seductiveness down Ianto's spine. 'Fair enough. I promise. No nasty comments.'

Ianto was dubious, but sighed. 'Fine,' he said wearily as he took off at a brisk pace. 'You can come with me on my errands for the wedding. See how serious I am for yourself.'

Jack chuckled as he fell into step alongside Ianto. 'Will you call me Jack instead of Harkness?'

'Fine.'

'Do I get to see your wedding dress?'

'Shut up.'

*

 

'I like that one.'

Ianto glanced at the four tiered, outrageously flowery and frilly cake and make a face. 'Leave choosing the cake to your fiancée when you find someone willing to put up with you,' he advised, turning back to the shopkeeper, Betty, with a smile. 'I'll take these cake toppers, thanks.' He handed her the tiny formally dressed plastic couple then jumped when Jack pressed up against him, peering over his shoulder at the tiny figures.

They'd been to the caterer, the jeweler, and the florist so far and Ianto hated to admit it, but he was actually enjoying Jack's company. Once he stopped insulting Ianto and asking questions about his former relationships, Ianto realised that he was funny and interesting, although evasive when asked about himself. He told a still-awed Ianto a little about his job and the people he worked with, and, as the day progressed, inadvertently revealed more than he realised about himself.

'You're very comfortable with all these wedding preparations,' Ianto noted as he counted out the correct money for the cake and figurines. 'You told me you weren't married now, but you were once, weren't you?'

Jack blinked in surprise and Ianto smirked. 'I knew it. You're divorced and lecturing me about marriage...'

'I'm not divorced,' Jack said, stepping back. 'But I was married.'

'What happened?' Ianto asked then, when Jack hesitated, he shook his head. 'Don't tell me you left? You stand there and judge me...'

'I did leave,' Jack admitted. 'But it was a different time and the circumstances... I didn't want to go.'

'But you did,' Ianto said, grabbing the point and running with it. 'You left.'

'Yes,' said Jack, and Ianto's victorious expression faded at the sound of the sorrow in Jack's voice. 'Yes, I left and she died.'

Ianto's mouth snapped shut and he closed his eyes. 'I'm sorry,' he said regretfully.

Jack shook his head and reached out to stroke a finger over the dress of one of the plastic figurines. 'It was a long time ago,' he said softly then he smiled. 'I knew from the moment I met her that I would marry her, that I wanted to spend a lifetime with her, but circumstances... I couldn't stay and then it was too late, but I wanted to. I wanted to stay.'

He looked at Ianto. 'Which is why I don't understand why you do what you do. How can you love someone enough to propose, to want to spend your life with them, then willingly walk away?'

Ianto looked pained and opened his mouth, but before he could form an answer, Betty returned. 'I'll bring the cake to Rhiannon's after the ceremony.' She tittered. 'I'll leave it in the car rather than make a special trip beforehand. You're never at the altar long, are you, dear?'

She patted Ianto's hand and smiled condescendingly at him then turned to Jack. 'Wedding cake freezes,' she shared. 'This we know.'

She laughed again, and Jack watched as Ianto forced himself to chuckle along with the joke. 'Thanks, Betty,' he said weakly, pulling his hand out from under hers and backing towards the door. 'I'll see you later.'

Jack followed him out the door, almost running into him as Ianto stopped abruptly on the footpath. 'Listen, you seem to have all these wrong ideas about me,' Ianto said suddenly, turning to look at Jack, 'and I want to try and make you see that I'm not trying to hurt anyone.'

'I'm willing to listen,' Jack said.

Ianto nodded and distractedly ran a hand through his hair as he muttered to himself, 'If it's the only way to stop you thinking that I'm this horrid person...'

He bit his lip then blurted loudly, 'And I didn't propose to them.' He looked as startled as Jack by his outburst but continued. 'They... I've never proposed to anyone.'

Jack's brow creased. 'But you keep saying yes.'

Ianto bit his lip and looked away. 'Yes, I do,' he agreed before he spun around and walked quickly away, calling over his shoulder. 'It's too late to finish my errands today. Come with me. I want to show you something.'

Jack trailed after him, a heavy weight on his heart. Ianto Jones wanted to be loved so very badly, and he reminded Jack so much of his own longing for someone special that it made him ache – for Ianto and for himself.

*

 

'Wow!'

A slow smile broke across Jack' s face as he looked around Ianto's private conservatory. Several powerful telescopes were set up in the middle of the room, all pointed towards the bank of glass skylights set into the roof.

'They open,' Ianto said, noticing Jack peering through the glass at the early evening sky. He reached for a handle on the wall and cranked it, watching the glass slide to the side, the cool air wafting in and ruffling his hair.

Jack closed his eyes and tilted his face high as the breeze caressed his skin then he glanced around the room. 'This is more than just a hobby,' he said, taking in the thick tomes that filled the book shelves lining the walls; the numerous hand drawn charts of the night sky, of constellations and star systems; the computer screen almost covered in sticky notes with coordinates and dates scrawled on them. 'You really love this stuff, don't you?'

Ianto smiled and, for the first time since Jack had met him, the smile reached his eyes. 'I do,' he said, trailing a hand lightly along the length of a telescope in a way that made Jack want to feel those fingers on him. 'I always loved looking up at the stars and imagining the life that must be out there, the civilisations; wondering if they were looking at Earth and doing the same thing.'

Jack chuckled. 'That's why you didn't freak out when I told you what I do,' he said, nudging Ianto gently in the ribs with his elbow. 'I just confirmed your suspicions.'

With a laugh, Ianto sat down, checking the coordinates on a telescope then adjusting it minutely. 'I did freak out a little,' he admitted. 'But I was more excited than anything. I came out here for a little while after you left and read through my books, wishing you weren't such an arse so I could ask you more about the things you've seen and done.'

Jack snorted. 'I can't tell you much,' he said with genuine regret. 'I probably shouldn't let you remember what I have told you...'

'But you will...'

Jack smiled at a worried Ianto. 'Yeah,' he said, ignoring the little nagging voice in his head that sounded a lot like Gwen. 'Yeah, I will.'

Ianto grinned – the smile lighting him up - and Jack silently cursed the other man as his attraction to him rose from 'annoyingly insistent' to 'I want to tear his pants off now'.

Oh, this is really, really bad.

*

 

'You've really never proposed to any of them?'

Ianto shot a dark look at Jack who just raised his beer to his mouth and quirked an eyebrow questioningly. Ianto sighed. 'No, I haven't,' he said. 'I guess they got to that point before me.'

He laughed. 'I don't think I'd know what to say anyway. I mean, flowery declarations of love and everlasting happiness aren't really my style and... well, they're bullshit, aren't they? I mean, the idea the everything is perfect just because you have a ring on your finger and change your surname by deed poll...'

'Considering how many weddings you've planned, you're not much of a romantic, are you?' Jack said, laughing when Ianto punched him in the arm.

'I guess I'm not,' Ianto sighed, downing the last of his ale and letting the bottle fall from his fingers to the floor of his shed with a clink. He leaned forward and put his eye to the nearest telescope.

He and Jack had been holed up looking at star charts and adjusting coordinates all afternoon and now it was dark outside. The stars shone bright in the clear sky above them while beer bottles and pizza boxes littered the floor at their feet. Jack had hinted that there might be some kind of heavenly event tonight, and they'd fallen into a surprisingly easy truce long enough to eat and get slightly wasted while they waited.

'I think you should be honest when you propose,' Jack said suddenly. 'Honest, but romantic.'

Ianto snorted inelegantly. 'Is that possible?' he asked.

Jack smiled and scooted his chair closer, wincing as it grated along the ground. 'Okay,' he said, settling back into his chair and staring at Ianto. 'If I was to get a proposal, I think that I'd want something real. Something that told me that you cared, but that you also knew this wasn't going to be a fairy tale.'

Ianto shifted in his chair, suddenly less at ease with Jack so close and looking at him so intently. 'Like...' he prompted, feeling a little ridiculous that he wanted to hear Jack's idea of a perfect proposal.

'Like...' Jack said then he paused, teeth gnawing at that beautifully curved bottom lip as he thought. Ianto licked his lips as the urge to bite at that lip washed over him with a force that made him shudder with the effort of holding back.

'Okay,' said Jack eventually. 'I'd say, "Look, I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee, at some point, one or both of us is going to want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart... you're the only one for me."'

Ianto stared at Jack, whose face was suddenly open and raw, and experienced an overwhelming desire to fall into his arms like a heroine in a romance novel. He frowned as he searched for something to say that would stop him humiliating himself.

'Is that what you said to your wife?'

Jack blinked and his face closed up. 'No,' he said, turning away from Ianto. 'I... I think I said something flowery and dishonest.'

There was a long moment of silence then Ianto said softly, 'I am sorry.'

Jack glanced at him. 'What for?'

'About your wife. I'm sorry you had to leave someone you loved. I'm sorry she died. You...' Ianto took a deep breath. 'There is a possibility that you are not a complete bastard, and I'm sorry things didn't work out for you.'

Jack huffed out a laugh. 'Yeah, so am I.' He looked at Ianto. 'Although I am a complete bastard.'

Ianto chuckled and looked up at the sky. 'Oh!' he cried, seeing light streak across the sky. 'Jack!'

They fumbled for their telescopes, watching the shooting stars through the lenses until it became clear the show was over. Ianto sat back and stared at Jack.

'How did you know?'

Jack reached for the last slice of cold pizza and smiled. 'I got a message from my co-workers today that a fleet of Madorian leisure ships were wanting to take a short cut through our atmosphere tonight on their way to one of the pleasure planets.'

Ianto's mouth fell open. 'P... Pleasure planets? Ships...? That... that was a space ship?'

Jack grinned and scooped up his almost-forgotten beer bottle, giving it a little shake and listening to the leftover liquid slosh around. 'Several space ships, actually,' he said before swallowing down the last few mouthfuls. He grimaced as the warm liquor hit his palate then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 'Madorian. They can hold up to a thousand passengers.'

'Aliens,' Ianto whispered, eyes rounding as he stared at Jack before turning to gaze up at the sky. 'God, Jack. Your life...'

Jack watched Ianto's glowing face and smiled softly. 'It's not as exciting as it seems,' he said quietly. 'It's a lot of responsibility. It's not all light shows and wonder. Some of it is... '

He closed his eyes as flashes of his time with the Master, his face-off with the Daleks on Satellite Five assaulted his mind. He shuddered then snapped open his eyes when he felt a hand cover his.

'You've seen terrible things?' Ianto whispered.

Jack inhaled deeply and tightened his hand around Ianto's. 'Yeah,' he whispered then he plastered a smile on his face. 'But I've seen the good stuff too. The pleasure planets... Oh, Ianto. I wish you could see it. You would love it. The decadence, the hedonism...'

'Jack.'

He heard the tempered warning in Ianto's tone and sighed. 'It was pretty bad,' he admitted. 'But I can't tell you about it.'

Ianto stared at him for a moment then nodded. 'Well,' he said, sitting back in his seat and staring up at the sky that would never look the same again to him. 'It's good to know you're out there protecting us from all the nasty stuff, although I do like the sound of these Pleasure Planets.'

Jack smiled and raised his eyes to the velvety sky as well. He wasn't sure Ianto realised he was still holding his hand but, when Ianto gave it another quick squeeze, Jack's breath caught in his throat. He groaned as he realised that he'd just lost a little of his heart to Ianto Jones.


	2. 2

'How's everything going there? Do you need me back?'

Gwen Cooper rolled her eyes at Martha Jones, making the doctor laugh as she slid an IV into the sick Blowfish's arm. 'We're fine, Jack,' she said, shoving off the floor with her legs and sending her chair rolling across to the medical bay. She stared down at Martha as she peered into the Blowfish's eyes. 'Homicidal, but very drunk Blowfish that passed out before it could do any damage, and a Weevil sighting that turned out to be a teenager's prank. It's been quiet.'

'We don't need you back, Captain!' Martha called, looking at the speaker on the phone as she spoke. 'I'll revoke your medical clearance if you try it.'

'She's a bit scary, Jack,' Gwen said with a grin at Martha. 'I'd do what she says.'

'You're both a bit scary,' Jack retorted, propping his phone under his chin as he lay back on his hotel bed with a sigh. 'And I'm not quite ready to come back yet anyway.'

'Falling in love with country life, Jack?'

'Something like that. Hey, did Andy tell you anything more about Ianto Jones?'

'Like what?'

'Oh, I don't know. Just thought it would help to have all the information I could.'

Gwen hesitated then said slowly, 'I thought there was no sign of Rift energy? That this wasn't a Torchwood case?'

'It's not,' Jack admitted. 'I'm just... curious about him, that's all.'

'Oh, God,' Gwen groaned, making Martha look up in concern. 'He's cute, isn't he? He's cute and you're horny...'

'Why do you always think the worst of me, Gwen Cooper?' he blustered, scowling when he heard Martha's giggle.

'Because the first conclusion is usually the right one?' she said bluntly. 'Jack, isn't he getting married?'

'He thinks he is...'

'And you're going to stop it?'

'No! I don't break up happy relationships, Gwen.' Gwen fidgeted on her seat at his tone, recalling her own flirtation with Jack and how he'd put the brakes on because of her relationship with Rhys. 'No, he's going to call this one off just like he did the rest.'

'You're sure about that?'

'Gwen, I know this man. Hell, I practically am this man. I know what he's looking for, and he won't find it where he's searching.'

Gwen frowned. 'Where should he be looking, Jack?'

There was a long silence then Jack said quietly, 'I'd better go.'

'Jack...'

'Night, Gwen. Give my love to Martha.'

*

 

'I spoke to your friend, Tommy, this morning over coffee,' Jack said as they walked down the bustling street the next afternoon.

He had made a very conscious decision to try and focus on Ianto the mystery as opposed to Ianto the man. For my own sanity Jack thought, grimacing a little as he remembered his frantic masturbation last night after he'd left Ianto's, and the more leisurely fantasy-driven wank in the shower this morning. He blinked the memory away and looked at Ianto, who was frowning at him.

Jack quirked an eyebrow and shrugged a shoulder. 'He seems like a nice guy.'

'Why were you talking to Tommy?' Ianto asked, his voice calm, but Jack could see the anger simmering beneath the facade.

'He was your first attempt at matrimony,' Jack said. 'I wanted to see if he knew what went wrong.'

Ianto was silent until they stopped outside the formal dress shop then he looked at Jack with a carefully guarded expression. 'And what did you find out?'

'That he still adores you,' Jack told him, crossing his arms over his chest. 'That he believes you did him a favour by calling the wedding off as he's now found his true calling.' Jack smirked. 'You must be fantastic in bed to garner that kind of loyalty after walking out on him.'

'It was the best thing to happen to him in the end,' Ianto said defensively. 'Tommy loves the church, loves that he's accepted there and can help other bisexual men find their way back to God after being told that they are wrong for so long...'

'Yes, it's all very noble and fulfilling, I'm sure, but that doesn't mean watching the man you love running the wrong way down the aisle didn't hurt like hell at the time,' Jack reminded him.

Ianto scowled, hurt flashing across his face before he firmed his jaw. 'Is that all Tommy said?' he asked coolly.

'Pretty much,' Jack said with a shrug and a vague wave of his hand, slightly embarrassed by the odd question that had slipped out just as Tommy had been preparing to leave.

'Do you remember how Ianto likes his coffee?'

'White with two sugars. Just like me.'

He wasn't sure why he'd asked, but had stored the information away in his head to analyse later.

'Leave him alone then,' Ianto said firmly, opening the door of the little shop. 'Please? Just let him be.'

Jack nodded as he followed Ianto into the store to be greeted by a high-pitched screech.

'Ah, Ianto!' cried the store clerk as he came towards them, arms outstretched. 'I wondered if I'd be seeing you soon. I thought you might have decided to recycle one of your old suits for this wedding.' He winked. 'Not like they got worn out, is it?'

He laughed at his own joke, and Ianto chuckled weakly. 'I'll just have a look around, Brad,' he said, herding Jack towards a rack of suit jackets on the far wall. 'I'll call if I need help.'

Brad smiled a toothy grin and flapped a hand at them. 'Sure, sure,' he said agreeably. 'You know where everything is, of course.' He laughed again and flittered off to fuss with a vase of flowers in the window.

Ianto sighed and glanced over the available jackets. Jack watched him with a frown until Ianto looked at him.

'What?'

'Why do you put up with that?'

'Put up with what?' Ianto asked distractedly as he examined a cuff.

Jack's frown deepened, but he shook his head. 'Never mind.'

Ianto pulled several jackets from the rack then quickly found matching trousers, shirts and waistcoats. He took a bit longer with the ties, lingering over a beautiful red silk tie before putting it back in favour of a more sedate grey stripe.

'I like the red better,' Jack piped up as Ianto headed for the dressing room. 'Why not try it?'

Ianto hung the suits on a hook in the small changing room. 'Lisa doesn't like red,' he said as he closed the curtain with a loud rattle. 'She thinks it's gaudy.'

Jack made a face then tugged the red tie from the display and slung it over the rail. 'Do you always do what Lisa says? Just try it,' he said and he grinned when he heard Ianto chuckle.

Jack leaned against the wall outside the dressing room, listening to the rustling of clothing and trying not to imagine Ianto's long, lean form completely naked, tried not to imagine all that creamy flesh so temptingly close - only a thin curtain hanging between them.

'Jack?'

'Mmm?'

'Do you think there's one right person for everybody?'

Jack blinked, his fantasy involving him ripping open that curtain and shagging Ianto rotten up against the mirror bursting. 'No, I don't think that, although I don't believe we fall in love as often as we think we do,' he said after several second's thought. 'I think attraction is often mistaken for love. Attraction is misleading.'

Ianto was silent for a long time then he said quietly, 'Yes, it is,' before sliding the curtain back. 'Well? What do you think?'

Jack's throat went dry as he greedily drank in the sight of Ianto in the well-fitting charcoal suit, the red tie bisecting the crisp white triangle of his shirt beautifully. He opened his mouth to comment, but nothing but a strangled croak emerged. A shy smile lifted the corners of Ianto's lips and he executed a slow twirl, Jack biting back a groan when the fabric of the trousers pulled over Ianto's firm buttocks.

'Jack?'

Jack swallowed hard. 'Um, f...' His voice broke and he cleared his throat. 'F... fine.'

Ianto's smile became mischievous and he flicked open the button of the jacket, pushing the sides apart as he braced his hands on his hips.

'You're having trouble forming words, Jack. I think that's a bit more than fine.'

Jack eyed Ianto's narrow hips, imagining his own hands gripping them as he pushed inside that tight arse... 'Really fine,' he choked out and Ianto laughed.

'Well, it's a pity Lisa doesn't like red if it garners that kind of reaction,' he said with a regretful little laugh. 'But I don't think this'll go with the blue bridesmaid dresses.'

'Get it anyway,' Jack said, regaining the power of speech. 'You... you look – God, Ianto – you look incredible.'

Ianto's cheeks flushed as red as the tie as he shuffled back into the dressing room. 'I can't really afford two ties,' he muttered then he gave Jack an oddly tentative smile before he drew the curtain back across the gap.

Jack released a long, slow breath, slumping back against the wall as his knees trembled.

Talk about attraction confusing things.

Twenty minutes later, Ianto's final purchase – the charcoal suit and grey striped tie – nestled carefully in a box. As he handed over his credit card to the irrepressible Brad, Jack slipped a small bag onto the lid of the box.

'That's not mine,' Ianto said, hooking his finger through the handle and holding it out to Jack.

Jack put his hand over Ianto's and pushed it back towards him. 'Yes it is.'

Ianto frowned in confusion and peeked inside the bag. 'Jack!' he gasped, catching a flash of red inside sheer white tissue paper. 'I can't...'

'That tie was made for you,' Jack said softly as Brad held out a pen and credit card receipt. 'Think of it as my attempt to beautify Talgarth.'

He squeezed Ianto's hand, electricity arcing between them as their eyes held, then he reluctantly stepped back to allow a visibly shaky Ianto to complete his purchase.

As they left, Jack heard the clerk mutter, 'I smell trouble.'

*

 

An hour later, Ianto sank down onto his bed and pulled the tie from the confines of the wrapping. He stroked a finger over the fabric, the material like water rippling under his fingertip. Warmth bloomed in his chest, blossoming until his whole body was suffused with heat.

The way Jack had looked at him today... Ianto fell back onto the bed, recalling the dark hunger in Jack's eyes as his gaze devoured Ianto in the dressing room. His body stirred – his reaction every bit as visceral and head-spinning as it had been in the store – but this time, Ianto didn't resort to reciting planet coordinates to beat his cock into submission. This time, his hand crept into his trousers, curled around his insanely hard cock and, with far less guilt than he knew he should feel, Ianto brought himself off to the thought of Jack Harkness' full lips wrapped tight around his dick.

Fuck. I'm in trouble.

*

 

Andy stared at Jack in disbelief. 'You're sure?'

Jack smiled gently and patted Andy's hand. He'd driven back to Cardiff early this morning, ostensibly to give Andy his report, but really, to try and put some space and perspective between him and Ianto Jones. 'I'm sure. I'm sorry, Andy,' he said, glancing at Gwen. 'Ianto was clear of any Rift energy. He just...'

He heard Gwen hiss softly and changed tact. 'He said he didn't deserve you; that he loved you, but you deserved more than he could give you.'

'Yeah, right!' Andy snorted, rubbing a hand across his eyes.

'I think he's genuine,' Jack said gently. 'I don't think he wanted to hurt you. This is better than ending up in a loveless marriage, isn't it?'

Gwen's eyes widened in surprise. 'You're defending him?

'No, I just...'

'He got to you,' Andy broke in, staring at Jack knowingly. 'It's like a moth to a flame. This is what he does. He makes you fall for him then...' Andy sighed, suddenly deflated while Gwen eyed Jack worriedly. 'That's what happened to me. I guess I didn't want to think that he...'

He shook his head then looked at Jack. 'Will he marry Lisa? Do you think he loves her the way he couldn't love me?'

Jack opened his mouth then felt Gwen's booted foot make contact with his shin, hiding a wince as she jumped in. 'Andy, love,' she said earnestly. 'It doesn't matter what this Ianto does now. What matters is getting you back in the game...'

'Captain?' Andy said, ignoring Gwen. 'Do you think he'll marry her?'

'Andy, how does Ianto like his coffee?'

Andy screwed up his face in confusion. 'Huh?'

Gwen was staring at him quizzically. 'Jack, what...?'

'Andy?'

'Um, he... Black. With one sugar.'

'Is that what he orders?' Jack asked, still uncertain as to why he needed the information, but the question had slipped out unbidden and he'd learned to trust his instincts. This was telling him something about Ianto; he just wasn't sure what yet.

'Yes. Well, no. I usually ordered first and he would just have what I had. Is that significant?'

Jack smiled and shook his head. 'No, sorry,' he said, realising that the answer to his question was different every single time. Now that is odd. Everyone has a preference. 'I was... just wondering.'

'Captain Harkness...'

'No, Andy,' Jack said as he pushed himself to his feet. 'He won't marry her.'

And he was sure he was right. Lisa Hallett was nice enough – sweet, positive in that peppy, cheerleader kind of way – but she was all wrong for Ianto. She spoke about him as if he was a challenge she needed to win rather than someone she loved and adored. She didn't know Ianto, didn't see that loneliness that Jack had caught glimpses of over the last few days, that uncertainty; the desperate fear that he would end up all alone. She wanted to be the one to succeed where others had failed.

Jack mumbled a goodbye to Andy then kissed Gwen on the cheek before he disappeared into his private room to pack some fresh clothes for his trip back to Talgarth. PC Andy might have been blinded by love, but he'd proven himself perceptive today. Ianto Jones had gotten right under Jack's skin, and Jack knew he wasn't going to be able to shake this sudden melancholy until this was settled – one way or another.

*

 

Rhiannon Jones' monthly dinners were legend in Talgarth, friends and family coming from miles to get together. This latest one was going to be particularly well attended as it was also serving as Ianto and Lisa's pre-wedding dinner.

Jack sipped at the fruity drink Rhiannon had pressed into his hand as he walked through the door. He'd spent the last ten minutes watching as Lisa steered a compliant Ianto around the room, greeting friends and family, and waxing lyrical about their upcoming nuptials. Ianto remained quiet, smiling benignly at Lisa and nodding agreement when a question was directed his way.

Can't they see it? Jack wondered as he took in the tension around Ianto's lush mouth, the schooled blankness on his face, the gorgeous but shuttered eyes. Can't they see him drowning?

Ianto Jones was slowly sinking, and no one could see it. No one but Jack who realised, as his eyes followed Ianto to the bar, that the reason he could see it was because he was struggling right alongside Ianto. They both wanted love, but shoved it away when it showed its face, refusing to accept anything less than perfection. They both wanted meaning to their lives, wanted something more to live for. They were both looking for something that flittered just out of reach, something they couldn't name but would know when they saw it.

As Jack watched, Ianto turned and looked right at him, their eyes catching and holding. Jack felt the tight knot of tension inside his chest loosen. His fist clenched around his drink, the glass creaking ominously in his grip as Jack considered that the something he'd spent over a century searching for might finally have a name.

'Hello there!'

Jack started, wrenching his eyes from Ianto to blink at the pretty blonde that was grinning up at him. 'Well, hello,' he echoed, a smirk forming rapidly on his face. 'And who might you be, sweetheart?'

The woman giggled and held out her hand. 'Rose Tyler,' she said, blushing prettily when Jack lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips over the back of it.

'And are you on the bride or groom's side, Ms Tyler?'

The bright grin lost some of its wattage. 'The groom,' she murmured, disengaging from Jack as her eyes crept across the room to where Ianto was laughing with Toshiko and Owen. 'We...' She sighed and turned back to Jack, her smile now resigned. 'Ianto and I were engaged a few years ago.'

Jack offered her a sympathetic smile. 'I'm sorry,' he murmured. 'I knew Ianto had been engaged before...'

'We just weren't right for each other,' Rose said sadly. 'I loved him and I know he loved me but...' She shrugged. 'I don't think I was enough. Ianto wants – needs – something more and I'm not sure even he knows what that is yet.'

Jack raised an eyebrow curiously. 'You don't think he's found it in Ms Hallett then?'

She smiled ruefully. 'It's possible I have a case of sour grapes,' she confessed. 'I couldn't be what he needed, and perhaps I don't want anyone else to be either.'

Jack reached out and caught her hand, giving it a squeeze. 'Somehow, I don't think that's what's happening,' he said softly, and she gave him a grateful look.

'I'm just sorry he's stuck with the tattoo,' she said, glancing at Ianto once more.

'Tattoo?'

Rose laughed. 'He got a tattoo for me,' she told him. She gestured to her hip. 'A rose. Right here. I told him I wanted him to get it, and he did as a surprise for our wedding. I never even got to see it.'

They both heard someone call her from across the room, and Rose murmured a polite farewell. Before she stepped out of reach, Jack gently grasped her elbow. 'Rose,' he said quietly, 'do you remember how Ianto likes his coffee?'

Rose stared at him, obviously startled by the disingenuous question, then, when no further explanation was forthcoming, she shrugged. 'Yeah,' she said a little wistfully. 'He always had it the same way I did – two sugars, milk, not too hot.'

Jack nodded and released her. 'Thanks,' he said, and she tipped her head, giving him one last probing stare before she spun on her heel and joined a group of laughing friends.

Jack looked around for Ianto, seeing him standing at the bar. He smiled when he caught the other man eyeing him rather thoroughly. Ianto's eyes widened when he realised he'd been seen, and he quickly looked away. Jack chuckled, weaving his way through the gathered throng until he stood behind Ianto, close enough to see the hair at Ianto's nape shift when Jack exhaled.

'Hi,' he said softly, feeling uncharacteristically nervous in the other man's presence.

'Hello,' Ianto murmured, glancing over his shoulder briefly before turning back to wave at the harassed-looking bartender. There was a moment of awkward silence then Ianto's shoulder twitched, and he asked with faux nonchalance, 'Where did you go then? I thought you were going to miss this opportunity to embarrass me.'

Jack leaned into Ianto, placing his empty tumbler very carefully on the bar. 'Oh no,' he whispered in Ianto's ear, stifling a smirk when he saw Ianto's finger pull at his collar. 'I wouldn't have missed this for the world.'

He shifted his hips, letting the front of his pants – the fabric already tenting slightly – drag over Ianto's arse and heard Ianto's hitching breath. His own respiration quickened and he bit his lip.

'Ianto...'

'Speeches!'

The tinkle of cutlery on glass rang out across the room and Jack was shoved aside as a flustered Ianto pushed past him. Jack sighed and surreptitiously adjusted himself as he caught the bartender's eye and tapped a finger on his tumbler. 'Another.'

The glass was refilled speedily and Jack sipped at it as he turned around, walking slowly towards the tables where Lisa sat, clinging to Ianto as Toshiko called for toasts.

Betty from the cake store stood up and raised her glass. 'May the bride's heart be full of hope and the groom's feet full of lead.' She winked at Ianto as laugher trickled around the room.

Jack frowned. He glanced at Ianto who was smiling, but looking down at the table. Lisa was grinning next to him, hugging Ianto's arm possessively. His eyes were still on Ianto when the next toast rang out loud and clear.

'May the pitter patter of little feet not be Ianto's.'

A familiar voice rose above the laughter to add, 'May the gifts be returnable,' and Jack glowered at Brad as he chugged his beer.

His heart ached for Ianto as Rhiannon stood up with a smirk. 'Ever heard the saying 'You're not losing a brother...'? Well, I'd like to!'

Ianto lifted his head and cast a tight smile at his sister who made a teasing pouty face at him and threw her champagne down her throat. Jack took another step closer to Ianto, the creases in his brow deepening as he got nearer and saw the tinge of hurt behind the tolerant smile. Anger bubbled in his stomach and his fists clenched. He heard the scrape of a chair over the ebbing chortles and realised that it was Owen standing and tilting his glass towards Ianto.

'Ianto Jones may not be Talgarth's longest running joke, but he is certainly the fastest.'

Jack turned back to Ianto in time to see him mouth the obviously old toast along with Owen. He murmured, 'Good one, Owen,' in a flat tone and that was it. Fury exploded inside Jack and he stepped forward.

'Ah, Captain Harkness has a toast,' Owen said as he sat down but Jack raised his hand in a 'wait' gesture as he closed the distance between him and Ianto.

Ianto's eyes widened and he glanced around the room self-consciously as Jack crouched beside him. 'Are you alright?' Jack asked, his voice stiffly controlled, and he saw the answer in Ianto's eyes before his walls were hastily raised.

'I'm fine.'

'It's just a joke, Jack,' Lisa said, smiling at him as though he were a child that didn't understand the adults' conversation. 'It's all a bit of fun.'

'A bit of fun?' Jack repeated, staring at her in disbelief before looking back at Ianto. He noted the tight jaw and shuttered eyes and nodded.

'Okay then,' he said, pushing himself to his feet and raising his glass so quickly that whiskey slopped over the side and dripped down his wrist.

'A toast,' he called, voice booming over the rumble of chatter that had peaked while he talked to Ianto but was now fading. 'To Ianto's family and friends. May you find yourself the bulls-eye of an easy target.' He looked at Ianto who stared back at him, his expression a mixture of horror and gratitude. 'May you be publicly flogged for all your bad choices, and your noses rubbed in all of your mistakes.'

'What the fuck?'

Owen's outburst preceded an angry and confused buzz from the crowd and, as Rhiannon stood to redirect everyone's attention to a party game, Jack saw Ianto disappearing out the door.

*

 

He found Ianto outside, hands linked behind his head as he took deep breaths. Ianto heard him approach and spun around, glaring furiously at him. 'Why the hell did you do that?' Ianto hissed as he reached Jack. 'You made a fool out of me!'

'They were the ones making a joke out you, Ianto,' Jack insisted, waving his arm towards the house. 'You don't deserve that.'

'What I don't deserve is for you to be messing with my head just a week before my wedding...'

'Can I see your tattoo?'

Ianto blinked, his angry words dying on his lips. 'What?'

'Your tattoo,' Jack repeated, tilting his head as he glanced down at Ianto's hip. 'Can I see it? I'm thinking of getting a rose as well, you see. Only on my arse.'

He turned and wriggled the aforementioned body part at Ianto, peering over his shoulder at him. 'How do you think that would look?'

He smiled as Ianto's gaze fell automatically to his backside and lingered for far longer than needed. A flush of heat washed over his skin and, when Ianto lifted his now-darker eyes, Jack found it a little harder to breathe. He cleared his throat, turning back to Ianto.

'On second thoughts,' he said, voice a little hoarse. 'Why mess with perfection?'

His words seemed to shake Ianto from his daze. He frowned at Jack. 'I'm not showing you my tattoo...'

'That's because you don't have one,' Jack said with the air of a magician at the climax of a magic trip. Guilt flashed across Ianto's face, and Jack grinned. 'You knew you had doubts and weren't prepared to mark yourself permanently for someone you weren't going to marry.'

'It wasn't like... I don't like needles,' Ianto insisted with a hasty glance towards the house. 'I didn't want to hurt Rose's feelings...'

'Why not tell her the truth? Why not tell her you didn't want to marry her?'

'I thought I did!' Ianto's voice had risen and he flushed, the dark red visible even in the dim lighting, and lowered his voice. 'I thought I did. I never meant to hurt her or Andy or Tommy, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't marry them.'

Jack took a step closer, peering at Ianto's stricken face. 'You're scared to death because you know that you don't love Lisa any more than you loved the others,' he said softly. 'You know that you aren't going to go through with this wedding either.'

Ianto's face shuttered, and Jack realised he'd pushed too hard, too fast.

'I love Lisa,' Ianto began, and Jack held up a hand.

'I never said you didn't, but how much do you love her? Do you feel like you can't live your life without her? Do you feel like you're missing part of yourself when she's not with you?'

Jack inched closer until he could feel the heat radiating off Ianto's body. 'Does she make you feel like you're on fire?' he said, his voice lower, rougher, and, when Ianto's eyes darkened in response, Jack felt alive for the first time in a long time. 'Would you fight for her with your very last breath?'

Ianto's mask wavered for long enough for Jack to see his answer. 'I didn't think so,' he said gently. 'Ianto, you won't marry her. You won't because you want something more. You want meaning and passion and you want to feel your body burn. You want someone who makes you feel.'

Ianto's breath shuddered from his lips and his gaze fell to Jack's mouth as Jack whispered, 'I know that's what you want because that's what I want and we are more alike than you realise.'

Ianto swallowed hard and, with what appeared to be great effort, stepped away. 'No.'

Jack smiled and licked his lips, smirking when Ianto's eyes fell once again before he tore his gaze away with a frustrated noise.

'Yes,' he said confidently.

Ianto glared at him, his lips curling into a snarl before he regained his icy control and his features smoothed out. 'You're wrong,' he said with as much passion as he'd use to discuss the weather, 'and you're not welcome here any longer. Leave, Harkness. Now.'

He turned to leave but Jack grabbed his arm to stop him. With a speed that made Jack yelp in surprise, Ianto seized his arms and forced him back into a deserted darkened corner, unceremoniously shoving him into a rickety wooden fence.

'Do you think I wanted all this to happen?' Ianto snapped, his eyes bright and glistening in the dim light. 'Do you think I wanted to be this guy? That I wanted to hurt them all? That I wanted to be the butt of every joke in town?'

'Ianto...'

'I am getting married in less than a week...'

'No, you're not.'

Ianto's mouth dropped open and he shook his head despairingly. 'You are such an arrogant...'

'And you are lost,' Jack snapped, gripping Ianto's biceps hard. 'You are the most lost person I've ever met. You're so lost you don't even know what kind of coffee you like.'

'What?' Jack saw Ianto consider his words then wince. 'I... It's called changing your mind! That's all.'

'It's not having a mind of your own. You just go along with them, Ianto, letting them make all your choices and decisions for you because you're too afraid you'll make the wrong one. You're just drifting here.'

Ianto's lips pressed so tightly together they turned white. Jack saw the cracks spider-webbing across Ianto's shell and pushed harder. 'You know there's more out there for you. You know that this – Lisa, the coffee shop, Talgarth – isn't enough. And it scares the hell out of you. Am I right?'

'Stop it. I'm getting married in a week and you...' Ianto took a shaky breath. 'You just want to be right. You just want to see me run again.'

'Why would I...?'

'Because you're a cynical bastard who is projecting his own mistakes on someone else. You ran too, Jack. Only you didn't have the decency to do it before the marriage, to give your wife a chance to find someone else.'

'Ianto...' Jack growled, voice low and dangerous, but the warning went unheeded as Ianto vent his headful of steam.

'You're the one who's afraid,' he snarled, poking Jack in the chest with a rigid finger. 'You've not told me anything about yourself this week. You don't know who you are or what you want. You said it yourself, Jack. We're alike. I'm not the only one who's lost, and you know it. You think if you can fix me, there's hope for you.'

Jack felt the colour drain from his face as Ianto hit every single raw nerve with astonishing precision. His fists curled and fingernails dug painfully into his palms, distracting Jack from the twisting and churning in his gut. All of a sudden, the anger seemed to leave Ianto, his shoulders slumping and face softening as his eyes held Jack's.

'Am I right, Jack?' he whispered. 'Am I right?'

Jack pushed off the fence and swayed into Ianto's space. 'I can't be fixed, Ianto Jones,' he said hoarsely, touching Ianto's cheek lightly with the tips of his fingers. He felt coarse stubble scrape against his skin and the sensation raised goose bumps all over his body.

Ianto's hand curled in Jack's shirt, and Jack wasn't sure if Ianto was trying to push him away or pull him closer. He didn't think Ianto knew either.

'You don't need fixing, Jack,' Ianto said softly. 'Neither do I. We just need someone that fits.'

Jack's hand curved to fit the shape of Ianto's jaw as he searched those eyes. 'Do you really think you've found that?'

Ianto's mouth pursed and his forehead wrinkled. 'Yes,' he rasped out, eyes darting over Jack's features as if he was trying to find something. 'I do. I just don't think it was where I expected it to be.'

'Ianto? Are you out here?'

Jack lost his balance as Ianto leaped away from him, steadying himself on the fence as he watched Ianto hurry towards Lisa. 'Sorry, love,' he heard Ianto say. 'I was talking to Jack.'

Lisa put her hand on Ianto's shoulder, murmuring something quietly. Ianto smiled and nodded at her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before hustling her back inside. Just before he stepped inside, he glanced over his shoulder at Jack. There was a moment where he hesitated, wavering between following Lisa and returning to Jack, then his name was called from inside the house. He gave Jack an odd little smile then moved into the house, closing the door softly behind him.

*

 

'Why did you invite him?' Tosh hissed into Ianto's ear as they both watched Jack step out of his showy SUV in the chapel's car park. 'You are asking for trouble, Ianto.'

'I'm just making it clear to him that I've made my choice,' Ianto told her, trying not to be too obvious about the fact he was checking Jack out. He knew he'd failed miserably when Tosh said, 'God, Ianto. Roll your tongue back up, will you?'

Ianto narrowed his eyes at her then put his hands on his hips. 'My tongue is exactly where it should be, Toshiko Sato,' he snapped. 'And Jack was so determined I wasn't going through with this. I want to make it clear that he's wrong. About everything.'

Tosh frowned at him. 'What happened at Rhiannon's, Ianto? When you and Jack disappeared? You've been strange ever since...'

'I don't want to talk about the party,' Ianto said bluntly, turning away from Tosh to stare at the interior of the chapel they were using for the wedding rehearsal tonight.

After the party five days earlier, Ianto had declined Lisa's offer to come home with him, citing exhaustion, and fell into bed alone. He'd tossed and turned all night, trying to forget how good it felt to have Jack touching him, how right it felt in that moment – that infinitesimal moment – when he'd allowed himself to believe that it could really be Jack he'd been searching for.

No. Jack is not for me. Jack is flawed and jaded and dented and bruised.

But as the days before the wedding passed with a speed that made Ianto's chest tighten painfully, he couldn't shake the thought that perhaps all of Jack's jagged edges fit perfectly with his own. Even now, two days before he was to marry Lisa, he was still struggling with his doubts.

It's not going to happen this time. Lisa is perfect for me. I don't need someone broken. I need someone whole, someone who doesn't push me and prod me and make me want things I can't possibly have...

'Oh,' he breathed suddenly, eyes wide as he finally got it.

He didn't want someone to challenge him, to encourage him because then he'd have to step up and out of his rut, out of his job, out of Talgarth. He was settling for less because he was too scared to search for himself and the future he could have.

Oh, God. It is Jack.

'Ianto? Ready?'

Lisa's voice startled him and he jerked to attention. He scowled at Jack, who was smirking behind Lisa, and concentrated on the woman he was going to marry --Oh, God! -- in just a few days.

'Yep,' he said hurriedly, moving to stand at the entrance of the conference room. He shot a defiant look at Jack as the other man slipped past Lisa to find a seat; Jack returning fire with a gaze so vulnerable that it made Ianto's chest hurt, and he struggled to draw breath.

'Okay,' said Lisa as she led Ianto to the makeshift altar, oblivious to his fight against his steadily rising panic. 'Ianto, remember what we talked about. Positive affirmations. This is what you want. Tell yourself how much you want this, how wonderful our life together will be. Watch me as I come down the aisle and think of our home and our children – our future.'

Ianto heard a soft snort to his right and closed his eyes as he was brought to a halt and Lisa gave him a little push into place. 'Ianto, watch me, alright?' she said brightly before turning to Jack. 'Jack, you can be the celebrant since he wouldn't come tonight.'

'Why wouldn't he come?' Jack asked as he allowed her to pull him to his feet and maneuver him at the top of the aisle.

Lisa's nose wrinkled. 'Something about a waste of time,' she muttered, rolling her eyes. 'Okay, Ianto, ready?'

Ianto opened his eyes and nodded, giving her what he was sure was more grimace than smile, his eyes flicking to Jack as Lisa dragged Toshiko to their starting point. Jack lifted his chin and crossed his arms over his chest, drawing Ianto's attention to his strong forearms, the play of muscle under the lightly tanned skin.

A quiet chuckle told him Jack had noticed and he lifted his gaze, narrowing his eyes. Jack feigned fear, eyes round as he pretended to cower. Ianto couldn't help but grin at his reaction then nearly jumped out of his skin when the 'fingernails on a blackboard' screech of the keyboard jolted through his brain and turned to glare at Rhiannon who was smiling at him cheekily. He looked back at Jack whose face was now straight and serious.

'Sure you want to do this?' Jack whispered.

Ianto gave him a curt nod then reached up to loosen his tie, tugging impatiently at the knot. He caught Jack's knowing smirk and desperately wanted to poke his tongue out at him. So distracted was he that he was surprised when he felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Lisa standing next to him, face contorted with displeasure.

'You aren't concentrating!' she scolded, giving first Ianto then Jack a stern look. 'You weren't even looking at me as I walked up the aisle. Listen, Ianto. Why don't I stay here and talk you through this? Um, Toshiko, would you mind...?'

'No way,' Tosh said quickly, glancing slyly at Ianto then Jack before turning her gaze back to Lisa. 'I'm not even going to pretend to walk up that aisle – no point setting a precedent. And Rhi can't do it because she's playing the keyboard... '

'Is that what you call it?' Jack mumbled.

Toshiko smiled then looked pointedly at Jack. 'Jack, you wouldn't mind being the bride, would you?' she asked sweetly. 'I promise we won't tell anyone.'

Jack stepped around the pulpit and gave her a quick salute. 'No problem, ma'am,' he said briskly. 'If you'd told me earlier, I could have arranged for my dress to be dry-cleaned...'

Ianto huffed out a laugh and shook his head when Jack did a sharp military turn at the end of the aisle. Rhiannon started torturing the 'Wedding March' again, and Ianto could feel Lisa's presence behind him, but his eyes were fixed on Jack.

The great weight on his chest lifted and the knot of anxiety in his stomach dissolved when Jack smiled a beautifully intimate smile as he came towards him. The world narrowed to just the two of them, Ianto only peripherally aware of Lisa saying something as Jack reached Ianto and turned to face him.

Jack was right. He was lost. He could feel the person he could be kicking and screaming to get out and, when he was with Jack, the excuses that usually placated him wouldn't fly. Jack was the outstretched hand that would pull Ianto out of the bog he found himself mired in, that he was drowning in. Ianto had been searching for meaning, for someone to be his guiding light as he tried to find himself. All this time... he'd been looking for Jack.

Jack's eyes burned into him, seeing everything Ianto usually tried to hide and, when Lisa's voice managed to push through the muddle in Ianto's mind – 'And then he says, "You may now kiss..."'- it felt like a sign. He and Jack stepped forward at the same time, eyes still connected then, as one, they leaned in and pressed their lips softly together.

The kiss. God, the kiss that Ianto had spent too many hours fantasising about was nothing like the hungry, passion-driven snog he'd imagined. It was gentle and slightly tentative, Jack's fingers brushing light as butterfly wings over his jaw, hesitating a moment before firming his touch and stroking his knuckles along Ianto's throat. Ianto leaned into the contact, letting his lips part then holding back the moan he could feel rising in his chest when Jack's tongue flicked experimentally at the soft flesh.

The low buzz of conversation was getting louder and louder, distracting him from the slow, hot slide of Jack's mouth against his and, as his fist closed around Jack's woolen coat, one voice suddenly rose about the rest.

'Ianto!'

Startled, Ianto pulled back. Jack. Fuck, me! I was kissing Jack!


	3. 3

Ianto turned his head to stare at Lisa, dazed and, for the first time ever, speechless. Her brown eyes begged him for an explanation, an excuse she could believe, but he had nothing to give her so she turned to Jack.

'What the hell was that?' she demanded, voice shrill in her shock, and Ianto looked to Jack for answers as well.

'I... That was a kiss,' Jack said, sounding more than a little surprised himself. 'That...'

'You kissed him!'

Jack stared hard at Ianto who couldn't stop a smile from pulling at the corners of his mouth. 'I'm sorry, Lisa,' Jack said, eyes lighting up as he gazed at Ianto. 'But he kissed me back.'

'I did,' Ianto agreed, stunned by his reaction. 'I... I kissed you back.'

A slow smile spread across Jack's face, and Ianto couldn't help but grin back, his face flushing. Lisa's indignant screech of 'How long has this been going on?' broke the moment.

'About a minute,' Ianto answered, and his smile grew when Jack admitted, 'Longer for me.'

It wasn't until Lisa let out a muted scream of anger and frustration and punched Jack hard in the mouth that he felt reality come rushing back and the consequences of his actions finally hit home.

'Oh, shit,' he muttered, practically throwing Tosh at Jack with a 'Look after him' as he chased after Lisa to apologise.

Unsurprisingly, she wasn't interested and stormed off. Ianto watched as her car peeled out of the car park with a loud squeal of tyres.

'God,' Ianto muttered, dragging both his hands through his hair. Rhiannon brushed past him, shrugging when he looked at her.

'At least you called it off before the wedding day this time,' she commented. Ianto rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets so he couldn't wrap them around her throat.

Rhiannon waved a goodbye and Tosh put a supportive hand on his arm as she departed, leaving him alone with Jack. Ianto could feel the other man at his back, could feel the heat radiating from him and fought his desire to throw him to the ground and fuck him through the floor.

'We..er,' began Jack, clearing his throat. 'We should probably talk about this.'

Ianto felt him come closer and closed his eyes as his skin prickled with intense awareness. 'We should,' he agreed, voice husky. 'Talk.'

'Mm.'

Jack's shoulder brushed against his and Ianto groaned in supplication. Jack's hands were on him even as Ianto turned into his embrace then their mouths were moving hungrily together, tongues frantically seeking a taste of the other, teeth swelling soft lips as they bit and scraped. Ianto felt Jack's hands sink into his hair and Ianto whimpered, rocking his hips against the hard angles of Jack's.

'God,' hissed Jack then his hands were pushing Ianto away. 'Stop. Ianto... We... we have to stop and talk.'

Ianto, panting and harder than he could recall ever being, smoothed a trembling hand down the front of his shirt. 'Right,' he said then moaned when he saw Jack's eyes had followed his hand's path and come to rest on the tented fabric of his trousers. Jack's fingers flexed and hand twitched and, as he reached out to touch, Ianto jerked back. 'Jack...'

Jack inhaled a juddering breath and nodded, stepping back until he hit the wall behind him. He held out a hand to ward Ianto off. 'Okay. Just... back up a bit, yeah?' His fiery gaze seared Ianto's body from head to toe. 'You're still far too tempting and way too close for my brain to function properly.'

Lust sizzled through Ianto, heating his blood. Instead of stepping back, Ianto moved closer, smirking when Jack's eyes widened. 'Or we could just go back to my place, I'll pound you into the mattress until we both come our brains out, and then we'll talk.'

Jack's eyes seemed to lose focus, and the hand that had been holding Ianto at a distance was pulling him in. 'I love the way your mind works, Ianto Jones,' Jack breathed before he wrapped his arms around Ianto's neck and crashed their lips together.

*

 

They were naked before they reached the bedroom, tumbling onto the bed in a knot of bare limbs and naked flesh. Mouths slid hot and wet over skin already slick with sweat, hands teasing tingling nerve-endings with unerring accuracy. Jack rolled Ianto onto his back, not breaking their seemingly never-ending kiss even as he settled in the cradle of Ianto's thighs. Ianto reached blindly for the side table drawer and fumbled for the necessities. He bit down hard on Jack's lips when he felt a spit-wet finger sliding over his perineum and Jack murmured into his mouth, 'This okay?'

Ianto hoped his tongue stroking over the roof of Jack's mouth was answer enough as he was pretty certain he was incapable of even one-syllable words right now. He pressed the condom and lube into Jack's hand, feeling a shudder rack him as Ianto's compliance became clear.

The need for preparation finally parted their lips, Ianto mouthing hungrily at Jack's throat while Jack hastily, but carefully opened him up, working first one then two fingers inside him before Ianto impatiently swatted his hand away.

'Now,' he rasped, breath hitching sharply as he canted his hips and his cock slid deliciously between his and Jack's bellies. He arched up again, groaning when the friction of their bodies against his erection sent a spike of pleasure juddering through him.

'Slow down,' muttered Jack, nipping at Ianto's earlobe even as he lined himself up with Ianto's body. 'Plenty of time.'

Ianto grunted, slinging a leg over Jack's shoulder and lifting his hips in encouragement as he felt the blunt press of Jack's crown against his stretched entrance. 'Been wanting this since the day I met you, Jack,' he whispered hoarsely, hand curling over Jack's flank. 'Don't make me wait.'

Jack stared down at him for a long moment, eyes darkening with need. 'Fuck, Ianto,' he breathed before pushing inside Ianto's body with one slow, smooth stroke.

Ianto's body arced off the bed, his head thrown back in supplication as the burning stretch sent fire scorching through him. He could hear Jack's voice calling his name as if from far away, but he couldn't answer, the crushing wave of want leaving him breathless. This was it. This is what he'd been searching for. This was right. He clutched at Jack's shoulders, hooking a leg around his waist then tightening the limbs as he desperately rocked his hips. 'Please,' he begged brokenly. 'Pleasepleaseplease...'

With a ragged cry, Jack surged forward, his plunges deep and hard and hitting all the right places. He covered Ianto's mouth with his own, swallowing the long, low moans he forced from Ianto's lips each time he filled him. Ianto clenched his eyes shut, his focus purely on sensation – Jack inside him, Jack over him, Jack surrounding him – until he heard Jack order him to, 'Look at me,' in a lust-roughened voice.

Ianto's eyes snapped open, meeting Jack's lust-blown gaze. Knowing he had done this, that he had been the one to undo Jack, to bring him right to the edge, was intensely arousing and, when Jack let his forehead fall against Ianto's, it was the sensation of his warm breath caressing Ianto's lips that finally drove Ianto to the end of his tolerance.

'Oh, Christ! Jack, I can't... Fuck!'

Ianto came in gut-wrenching spasms, come fountaining over their bellies in powerful jets. Jack wasn't far behind: one final bone-jarring thrust and a guttural groan signaling his own loss of control.

Jack collapsed over Ianto, pressing him into the mattress while they both struggled for breath, post-orgasmic shudders jolting through them every now and again.

When the cooling sweat and come became sticky and uncomfortable, Jack rolled onto the bed beside Ianto, resting there a moment before standing and pulling Ianto to his feet. They showered without speaking, gentle hands and soft lips doing all their talking with tender touches as they washed each other slowly and thoroughly.

It wasn't until Ianto finished drying Jack's hair and had wrapped the towel around his broad shoulders that the silence was finally broken with Jack's quietly spoken question...

'Marry me?'

*

 

'You what?'

Gwen's expressive eyes nearly popped from her head and her mouth hung open as she stared at the telephone. Martha blinked, scrunching her eyes up tight before opening them again. She glanced at Gwen who stared back, mouth opening and closing silently. Whatever alien-induced delusion she was suffering, it had obviously affected Gwen as well. She looked back down at the phone.

'Jack, could you repeat that please?' she asked, quickly adjusting the volume on the speaker. 'I don't think we heard correctly.'

Jack's warm, seductive chuckle was as clear as if he was standing beside them. 'You aren't delusional, girls,' he said gleefully. 'I'm getting married this weekend.'

They had heard correctly the first time.

Martha sank into the nearest seat, shock weakening her knees, and Gwen finally found her voice.

'I'm going to get the whiskey then you've got some explaining to do, Jack Harkness.'

*

 

'Bloody hell!'

Toshiko slapped Owen on the arm then turned to stare in bemusement at Ianto. 'So you figured you'd paid for everything anyway so... why not?'

Ianto rolled his eyes. 'No,' he said wearily, scrubbing a hand through his hair. 'I... I want to marry Jack.'

Owen opened his mouth but all that emerged was a pained squeak as Toshiko planted the heel of her shoe in his calf. 'Ianto,' she said gently. 'Yesterday you wanted to marry Lisa...'

'No,' Ianto interrupted, face going pink. 'Yesterday I was going to marry Lisa. Today I want to marry Jack.'

'There's a difference?' Owen asked, taking a chance on opening his mouth again.

Ianto nodded. 'Yes,' he said firmly. 'There's a difference.'

'Ianto, you should take some time and think...'

'Tosh, I'm already more sure about this than I've ever been about anything else in my life,' Ianto said fervently. 'Jack is...' He smiled, suddenly a little breathless as memories of last night and their slow, languid lovemaking after he'd whispered, 'Yes', to Jack's proposal, assailed him.

Toshiko and Owen glanced at each other then Tosh prodded, 'Ianto?'

Ianto blinked then smiled dreamily at his friends. 'I want Jack,' he said softly. 'I've always wanted Jack. I just didn't know it.'

*

 

'You spoke with Betty about the cake?' Jack asked, dragging his toe languorously along Ianto's calf.

'Mm,' Ianto purred, flattening his hand against Jack's back and smoothing it over the broad expanse of flesh. The muscles didn't leap in reaction to the touch; Ianto smugly taking that as a sign that Jack was completely sated after their vigorous activities earlier. 'She'll change the figurines so there are two grooms instead of a bride and groom.'

He smiled when he reached the dip of Jack's lower back, circling his fingertips lightly over the sensitive skin there before skimming them over the rounded backside. Jack sighed contentedly and wriggled closer, burying his face in Ianto's shoulder as Ianto fitted his hand to the curve of Jack's buttocks.

'I spoke to the celebrant as well,' Ianto murmured, lips brushing Jack's jaw as he spoke. 'He seemed to think there would be no problem with the paperwork. Something about Torchwood dealing with it...?'

Jack lifted his head long enough to bat his eyelashes innocently at Ianto. 'I'm on leave from Torchwood,' he said. 'Don't know anything about what those meddlesome women get up to while I'm gone.'

Ianto nuzzled his nose into Jack's hair and breathed in deep. 'Course you don't,' he mumbled, giving Jack's arse a squeeze.

Jack made a croaking sound and pushed back into Ianto's hand, his flaccid cock rubbing against Ianto's thigh. 'Nice,' he murmured, but he didn't push for more, simply settling for comfortably against Ianto's side. 'This is all so nice.'

Ianto hummed an agreement as he closed his eyes. He felt more sure about this – about Jack – than he'd felt with any one of his relationships before. There was a part of him – that same tiny niggling voice – that questioned their haste, but Ianto gagged it. Everything was ready and he knew that he loved Jack with an intensity that frightened him a little, but, as Ianto drifted off to sleep, Jack curled up in his arms, he knew that he could do it this time.

He was going to marry Jack Harkness.

*

 

'Jack? Are you okay, sweetheart? Do you need anything?'

Jack looked up from the depths of his glass of whiskey and stared at a concerned Gwen. 'No,' he rasped out, his voice harsh and rough, and he knew it wasn't just from the heat of the whiskey. 'I'm fine. I... I'll be fine.'

Gwen bit her lip, eyes wide and sympathetic. Jack couldn't stand to look at her, couldn't stand the pity he could see in her face; the gold band on her finger mocking him and reminding him of what he'd lost today. 'Go home, Gwen,' he whispered, pushing himself wearily to his feet and snatching up the whiskey as he headed for his bed. His small, lonely bed. 'Just go home.'

'Jack, I don't want to leave you alone...'

Jack let loose with a bark of brittle laughter as he swung his leg over the ladder that led down into his private room. 'Alone is what I do best,' he said in a false upbeat voice. 'Alone is good. Can't get hurt when you're alone.'

He saw Gwen's eyes fill with tears and felt an answering prickle in his own. He blinked and shook his head. 'Please, Gwen,' he said out loud, flinching when he heard how broken he sounded. 'Please.'

He didn't stay to watch her go, letting himself drop down onto his bed, the whiskey spilling on his sheets. As he raised the bottle to his lips once more, he heard her footsteps fading then the bleating of the alarms as the cog door opened then closed again.

Jack swallowed the burning liquid, and let his head fall back against the wall with a clunk. He closed his eyes then opened them again quickly when the sight of Ianto's panicked face before he turned and ran away greeted him.

'Ianto fucking Jones,' Jack hissed, taking another long pull at the bottle. 'I should have known. I should have fucking known...'

Alone. He was always left alone.

A potent combination of misery and fury exploded inside him, and he flung the almost empty bottle at the brick wall, watching it shatter into splinters with no sense of satisfaction at all. A sob escaped his lips, and Jack scrubbed hard at his eyes even as the tears began to fall.

Ianto fucking Jones.

*

 

Ianto hugged his legs to his chest, leaning his forehead on his knees as he rocked gently back and forth. The bed felt big and empty and he could still smell Jack on the sheets.

Jack.

Ianto turned his head slightly and glanced at the phone on his bedside table. He bit his lip as his hand moved towards it. He wanted to call Jack, wanted to hear his voice, wanted to apologise and try and make him understand that this wasn't his fault.

'God, what did I do?'

'Ianto?'

Ianto closed his eyes and turned away, snatching his hand back. 'I'm not in the mood, Rhi.'

She stepped into the room anyway, sitting carefully beside him on the edge of the bed. 'Why, Ianto?' she whispered, putting her hand lightly on his shoulder. 'I thought... I could see it was different with Jack.'

'It was,' Ianto muttered into his knees. 'I just... I started thinking that we were rushing into this and how long I'd known him and how could I know this would this work out when none of the others had...'

Ianto took a deep, juddering breath. 'And then I started wondering why the others hadn't worked, what was wrong with me and what was different about this time.'

He raised his head and stared at Rhiannon. 'There was nothing different. I mean, Jack was different because he seemed to understand me better than anyone, and when I was with him, I felt different – more confident, more... sure, but when I wasn't with him...'

Ianto sighed, picking at a loose thread in the blanket. 'Jack said I was the most lost man he'd ever met.'

Rhiannon opened her mouth to comment, but Ianto shook his head. 'No, he was right,' he said quickly. 'And that hasn't changed. I want to marry Jack, I really do, but I'm still that person who ran out on so many weddings because I was relying on someone else to define me and got scared when I realised they couldn't. I'm still lost, Rhi, and I can't rely on Jack to fix me. I've got to do that myself.'

'Oh, Ianto,' Rhiannon whispered, sliding an arm around him and pulling him close.

'I just... I have to figure out where to start,' Ianto said softly before he buried his face in her shoulder and muttered, 'And pray that Jack believes in second chances.'

*

 

Four weeks later

'Mickey! Look out!'

Jack raised his Webley and fired a shot at the Weevil behind new recruit Mickey Smith. It froze as the bullet pierced its shoulder, arm aloft and just inches from Mickey's throat. Then it dropped like a stone, Jack grabbing hold of Mickey's shirt and yanking him out of the way just in time.

Mickey, mouth hanging open, stared at the Weevil then looked at Jack. 'Idiot,' Jack muttered, not unkindly, to his former traveling companion before he reholstered his gun and inclined his head towards the felled alien. 'Come on then.'

Together, he and Mickey got the Weevil restrained and into the SUV. Mickey came out of his stupor half-way back to the Hub and chattered non-stop. Jack slumped over the steering wheel, allowing most of the rambling to wash over him as he gazed absently at the road as he drove. It wasn't until Mickey said, '... that Ianto bloke' ... that Jack straightened and looked sharply at the other man.

'What?'

Mickey glanced at him, doing a double take when he saw the dark expression on Jack's face. 'I said it's a good thing you've finally stopped moping about over that Ianto bloke,' Mickey repeated, obviously wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. 'You've been a bit useless lately.'

Jack's voice was harder than he'd intended when he retorted, 'You're a fine one to talk about being useless, Mickey Mouse.'

'Least I was only in danger of getting myself killed,' Mickey snapped back then blanched. 'God, Jack, I didn't mean...'

'Yes, you did,' Jack interrupted stonily, heart heavy when he recalled Gwen's close call a week earlier. She was still recovering from the near-fatal blow to her head after a rogue Hoix knocked her flying; a rogue Hoix Jack had let slip from his fingers because he was tired and distracted. 'And you're right. I... I haven't been much of a leader lately.'

Mickey grunted then heaved a loud, put upon sigh before he spoke. 'Listen,' he said. 'Why don't you just talk to him? He keeps calling, and finding out why he did it might just give you some of that closure Gwen and Martha keep yapping about.'

'I know why he did it,' Jack muttered as they pulled into the car park. 'I just can't believe I was so stupid to believe that I'd be any different from the others.'

Mickey was quiet as Jack found a park closest to the Torchwood entrance then, after Jack switched off the engine, he said quietly, 'Maybe you were different, Jack, but he was still the same person. You can't make someone stay just by loving them hard enough.' He scowled. 'Learned that lesson the hard way.'

Jack nodded then jumped when his phone beeped. He checked the screen then pressed Ignore.

Mickey eyed him speculatively. 'Ianto?'

Jack shoved the phone back in his pocket and flung open the car door. 'Just help me with this Weevil, will you?'

*

 

Toshiko smiled sympathetically at Ianto as he hung up the phone. She hadn't heard much of the low murmured message he'd left for Jack, but the haunted, desperate expression on Ianto's face told the story.

'He still won't pick up?' she asked gently then reached for Ianto's hand when he shook his head despairingly.

'He won't call me back,' Ianto said hoarsely, throat tight with unshed tears. 'He won't let me explain or tell him how I'm trying to fix things.'

'You hurt him, Ianto...'

'I know!' As soon as the abrupt shout left his lips, he was apologising. 'I'm sorry, Tosh. I'm just frustrated. I need to talk to him, I need to tell him that I've changed, that I'm working things out.'

'He might just need more time, Ianto.'

'Or maybe he needs you to stop whining, get off your arse and fight for him.'

Tosh and Ianto whirled around, Tosh glaring at Owen as he sauntered through the door of the store.

'Owen,' she scolded. 'Ianto needs to do this in his own...'

'No,' Ianto interrupted, standing slowly as his mind raced. 'No, Tosh, he's right. I need to show Jack that I've changed, that I'm not going to give up on him. I need him to see how serious I am.'

He grinned, suddenly feeling more alive and energized than he had in weeks. 'I'm going to Cardiff.'

To Tosh's amusement and Owen's disgust, Ianto hugged and kissed them both enthusiastically before heading for the door. 'Wish me luck!'

He hesitated on the foot path. Jack told him he lived in his base – his secret, locked down base. How the hell was he going to get in to see him? Ianto gnawed at his lip as he walked, ignoring the cheery hellos that followed him.

I need someone on the inside.

Ianto stopped in the middle of the foot path. Gwen... somebody. She was at the disaster of a ceremony. She was Jack's second-in-command. Gwen Cooper... Watson? Wallace?

Shit. What was her married name?

He thought back, recalling the night Jack first mentioned his friend. He smiled as he remembered the ridiculous combinations of their surnames Jack had teasingly suggested they use once they were partnered then...

'Williams! Gwen Cooper Williams!'

Ianto quickly called a telephone exchange operator and, thirty seconds later, was listening to it trill, willing it to be picked up then almost dropping the phone when it was.

'Hello?'

'H... hi. Um, is this Gwen?' he asked, suddenly nervous.

'Yes.'

'Gwen Cooper Williams? The Gwen that works for Torchwood?'

There was a pause then, 'Who is this?'

Ianto inhaled deeply. 'I met you through Jack Harkness,' he said quickly. 'I'm Ianto Jones.'

Another longer pause, so long that Ianto began to panic that she'd hung up. 'Hello? Are you there?'

'I'm here,' Gwen said cautiously. 'What... what can I do for you, Ianto?'

'I need to see Jack.'

She let out a humourless bark of laughter. 'I don't really fancy your chances, love.'

'I know,' he said earnestly. 'I know I hurt him and I can never take that back. But I'm coming to Cardiff and I'm going to fight like hell for him. I'm not leaving until I see him.'

'And how exactly are you planning on doing that, Ianto?' Gwen asked archly. 'Jack rarely leaves the Hub these days and if you do see him in the street, he's just as likely to run you over as kiss you...'

'I know,' Ianto agreed, sending up a silent prayer to the heavens. 'That's why I'm calling you. I need your help, Gwen. I need you to help me get Jack back.'

*

 

'Night, Jack!'

Jack looked up from his paperwork and smiled. He waved at Martha and Mickey as the cog door rolled back, watching them laughing as they left for the day. He sighed, tossing his pen onto the pile of forms and reports then ran his fingers through his hair.

It had been a quiet day, the Rift behaving which usually meant that something big was coming. There had been an odd air of anticipation in the Hub today. The others had felt it too; he'd caught them all in a huddle earlier, so absorbed in a whispered conversation that they hadn't heard him until he was nearly upon them. Gwen had seemed nervous all day. Perhaps working for Torchwood for so long had given her some kind of sixth sense about the workings of the Rift.

She had gone too – skivved off early – and Jack was alone in the quiet of the Hub, the low hum of the mainframe and the slow and steady trickle of water over the fountain deafening without the laughter and shouted conversations of his team. Jack slumped back into his chair, his already tenuous interest in his stack of paperwork dissolving. He hated the quiet. He always had, but it seemed so much worse these days after he'd been so close to having something more, someone to break the screaming silence. Jack's eyes slid to the drawer of his desk and his hand twitched towards the handle before he realised what he was doing.

'No,' he said, leaping to his feet as if he'd been burned. He didn't know why he'd kept the rings he'd purchased for him and Ianto, or why he kept them in that drawer where he saw them every single day...

It's not over. That's why I keep them there. It's not over.

Jack groaned, leaning his hip against his desk as he tugged open the desk drawer and took out the box. He gazed at the thick platinum rings inside and sighed before snatching his coat off the coat rack and heading for the nearest rooftop.

He sat on the edge of the roof of the Millennium Centre and stroked his thumb over the warm metal of Ianto's wedding band. He hadn't fallen this fast and hard for someone for a long time and he'd let himself get carried away, had encouraged Ianto to get carried away with him when he knew the other man was... skittish.

Jack closed his eyes tight as the truth finally found its voice. This was Jack's fault. Well, maybe not entirely Jack's fault, but he had to assume some responsibility. He had known how lost Ianto was, how easily he could be led, and yet, he'd allowed the rush of excitement and lust and love to carry them all the way to the altar. It had been a mistake, he knew that now. But his hurt, his pride, was stopping him from allowing Ianto to try and fix that mistake.

'Shit,' he muttered, snapping the box shut and shoving it into the deep pockets of his RAF coat. 'What a mess.'

'Jack?'

Jack froze, his whole body clenching at the sound of that glorious Welsh lilt. He was hearing things...

'Jack, please?'

His chest rose and fell rapidly as his mind and body struggled to understand what he was hearing. It couldn't be Ianto. How on earth could it be Ianto?

'Jack, come on. He just wants to talk.'

Oh, I should have known. That nosy, interfering...

Jack swung his legs back over the ledge, and his eyes focused on the two figures behind him. He glared at Gwen then, reluctantly, glanced at Ianto who had the indecency to look fucking amazing.

'Let me guess, Gwen's a fan now too?'

'Just making friends, Jack,' Ianto said softly, eyes hungrily devouring every inch of Jack's face.

Jack hummed disapprovingly and cut his eyes back to Gwen. 'Traitor.'

'No. Friend,' she retorted, brushing her hair out of her face. 'You can thank me later.' She turned to Ianto and, to Jack's annoyance, put a supportive hand on his arm and said, 'Call me.'

Ianto nodded and, with a final, pointed look at Jack, she disappeared, leaving Jack in the first and last place he would choose to be: alone with Ianto.

'I don't blame you for being mad...' Jack snorted and Ianto flinched. 'Furious...?'

Jack just raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms across his chest. Ianto slowly walked towards him. 'Irate? Livid?'

'What do you want, Ianto?'

'I wanted to talk to you about why I run away from things. Why I ran away from you.'

'Does it matter? It's done now...'

'I think so.' Ianto cleared his throat and leaned against the ledge, within touching distance, Jack noticed. 'When I was standing at that altar with all the others, I was looking at somebody who had no idea who I really was. And it wasn't really the other person's fault because I had done everything to convince them that I was exactly what they wanted. I was the perfect partner – agreeable, pliant, did everything that was asked of me without an argument. But it was all a lie.'

'I know,' Jack said baldly and Ianto smiled.

'Yes, because you knew the real me.'

'Yes, I did,' Jack said softly. 'Or at least, I thought I did.'

'You did. But I didn't.'

'Still, I ended up running back to Cardiff alone with my tail between my legs.'

Ianto looked abashed. 'I know and I'm sorry, Jack. So sorry.' He sighed. 'I can't do anything to change that, but...'

He spun on his heel and walked back towards the exit. Jack's nails dug into his palms as he fought against a wave of panic. Was Ianto leaving?

'Here,' Ianto said, returning after retrieving a thermos from the shadows.

'What's that?' Jack asked, trying to stay aloof, to keep his guard up.

'Coffee,' Ianto said with a little smile. 'Jamaican blend with just a touch of heated milk. That... that's how I like my coffee.'

He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a travel mug. 'I made enough for both of us. The way you drink it... '

He made a face and Jack snorted out a reluctant laugh. He watched as Ianto poured the drinks, the rich perfume making Jack's taste buds tingle. He'd been avoiding coffee since he returned from Talgarth. Every time he smelled it, he'd remembered his first sighting of Ianto and his heart ached so badly...

But Ianto was here, right in front of him now, holding out the travel mug and looking so vulnerable that Jack couldn't help but soften. 'Thanks,' he muttered, taking the mug and sipping the coffee. He groaned in appreciation then looked back at Ianto. 'Wow,' he said softly. 'Good choice.'

Ianto smiled cautiously, putting his own mug carefully on the ledge. 'Like my jumper?' he asked off-handedly, parting the lapels of his coat to show off the cable-knitted jumper.

'It's red,' Jack noted, the corner of his mouth turning up.

'I like red. Someone gave me a red tie once and I discovered that it's my colour.' Ianto's smile widened. 'So do you like it?'

Ianto posed playfully, and Jack couldn't stop his chuckle. 'Yeah,' he said ruefully. 'Yeah, I like it.'

'I've enrolled at Cardiff University,' Ianto told him. 'Studying astronomy.'

Jack grinned: his first genuine smile of the night. 'That's fantastic.'

Ianto flashed a quick grin at him, but nerves seemed to be surfacing now, and he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. 'And I hate big ceremonies where everybody's staring. I'd like to get married on a weekday while everyone's at work.'

'Ianto, why...?'

'This is me turning in my running shoes, Jack. Metaphorically speaking.' Ianto lifted his shoulders in a self-deprecating shrug. 'I don't want to run anymore.'

Jack's hand shook as he put the travel mug down beside Ianto's. 'You're serious,' he said, hope and self-preservation battling inside him.

'Yes,' Ianto agreed. 'And there's one more thing. If you could just... um...' He grasped Jack by the shoulders and maneuvered him to the ledge, forcing him to sit. 'Okay. I just... Hold on...'

Ianto wiped his palms on his denim-clad thighs then, in a move lacking his usual grace, went down on one knee.

Jack burst into nearly hysterical nervous laughter. This can't be happening. He buried his face in his hands, but Ianto tugged them away from his face.

'Oh, no, Jack. No, no. Don't hide your face,' Ianto insisted, holding Jack's hands in his as he smiled up at him beatifically. 'This is a first for me so you're not gonna want to miss it.'

He took a deep breath, let it out noisily, and said, 'I love you, Captain Jack Harkness. Will you marry me?'

Jack huffed out a breathless laugh, not quite willing to believe that this was happening. 'Well, I've got to think about this a little bit,' he said slowly, trying to buy himself some time to wrap his mind around the development. He was startled when Ianto laughed and leaped to his feet.

'Good. I was hoping you would say that,' he said brightly, and Jack frowned.

'You were hoping I wouldn't say yes...?'

'If you'd said yes, I wouldn't be able to do this next part...' Ianto said, edging his backside onto the ledge next to Jack, still holding his hands, and looking at him. All traces of humour were gone now, leaving only an earnest longing that made Jack's breath catch.

'I've been practicing so let me get through this, okay?' Without waiting for Jack's answer, Ianto swallowed hard enough for Jack to hear and said softly, 'Jack, I guarantee that we'll have tough times. And I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us will want to get out. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart, you're the only one for me.'

Jack's whole body was trembling, and he felt Ianto squeeze his hands in support. 'That...' he began then stopped to clear his throat when his voice cracked alarmingly. 'That was a pretty good speech.'

Ianto smiled. 'I borrowed it from this guy I know. He told me proposals should be honest and romantic.' He worried his lower lip. 'Was it?'

'Yeah,' Jack breathed, unable to tear his eyes from Ianto's. 'Yeah, it was.'

'So?' Ianto whispered, eyes huge in his pale face. 'Jack...?'

'Dance with me.'

Ianto blinked in surprise. 'Um... there's no music.'

Jack stood up and pulled Ianto into his arms. 'We don't need music,' he said softly, gliding his hands up Ianto's arms to cup his face. Ianto's lips curled up gently and slid his arms around Jack's waist.

They swayed together, moving from side to side to the rhythm their pounding hearts set. Their bodies slid perfectly into place: sharp angles and hard planes slotting together as if they'd been carved especially to fit. Ianto's breath on Jack's neck made him shiver. Ianto pressed a soft kiss to Jack's throat then melted against him.

Jack lost track of how long they danced together, but, when they finally pulled apart, the first rays of dawn light had begun to creep across the city below them. They sat on the ledge to watch the sunrise then Ianto turned to Jack with a question in his eyes. Jack smiled and brushed his thumb over Ianto's lips before he whispered...

'Yes.'

*

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones would like to  
announce that their partnership ceremony took place  
at dawn on the rooftop at Millennium Stadium on  
Monday, 23 July. It was attended only by their witnesses,  
Rhys and Gwen Williams.

A celebration for family and friends will take place on Sunday, 29th July,  
at 'Jones' Coffee Place' in Talgarth. After a honeymoon in an undisclosed location, the couple plan on settling in Cardiff.

fin. 


End file.
